1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a heated air ducting structure for motor cycles. More particularly, the invention relates to a heated air ducting structure for motor cycles of the type in which a rider's seat is disposed posterior to an engine.
2. Description of Relevant Art
In general, motor cycles, excepting small-sized motor cycles of a power unit swing type, include an engine mounted at a lower position in the front part of a vehicle body frame, a fuel tank installed above the engine, a rider's seat arranged in the rear of the fuel tank, continuously to the rear part of the tank, side covers provided below the rider's seat, at the left and right, with an intention to cover auxiliary equipment such as a battery, and a rear fender disposed over a rear wheel.
Moreover, in most of those motor cycles which are relatively large in vehicle size and in displacement of the engine mounted thereon, there is provided, in addition to such vehicle components as described above, at least one rear side container to be disposed, in the rear of the side covers, at either side of the rear wheel. In this respect, most of such motor cycles of relatively large size are constituted as of a tandem seat type.
Incidentally, in such motor cycles as described, the engine as a heat generating part is cooled with air that flows from ahead of the vehicle toward the engine, cooling the engine, while the vehicle is travelling. Then, after the cooling of the engine, heated air flows in the rearward direction of the engine.
However, in such motor cycles, a narrow space defined between the engine and a bottom surface of the fuel tank is utilized to arrange, in the rear part thereof, certain auxiliary equipment to be covered by the side covers. Disadvantageously, a part of the heated air tends to stagnate in the narrow space, raising the temperature therein. Further, due to the presence of such auxiliary equipment, the heated air having cooled the engine is let to flow to the rear of the vehicle, not directly but along side surfaces of the side covers, so that a driver as an anterior rider, as well as a passenger as a posterior co-rider, is likely to be exposed at the legs to streams of the heated air. Such circumstance is notable in motor cycles of such relatively large type in size as described.
In this respect, in such conventional motor cycles as described, it is desirous, if permitted, to prevent the stagnation of heated air in the narrow space between the engine and the bottom surface of the fuel tank, thereby avoiding temperature rise in this narrow space, and concurrently to possibly minimise the quantity of heated air rearwardly flowing along the side covers provided at both sides of the vehicle.
With such points in mind, the present invention has been achieved to effectively substantiate a desideratum in such motor cycles as described, particularly of such type which is relatively large in vehicle size and in displacement of engine.